Delving through my Kindle I was surprised to see how much nonfiction was stuck at the bottom of the “most recent” view. Much of it was well-reviewed or strongly recommended at the time I downloaded it. For December, I’ll be making an effort to fish or cut bait on these titles.
Given Up
ReWrite: The Journey From Harm To Self-Healing, Benjamin Sledge, 2017.
I follow Sledge on Medium -- a platform which was making self-destructive business decisions before Twitter made it cool -- and liked his writing enough to give the book a shot. I am fortunate, I suppose, that I can’t relate at first or second-hand to the cutting or other forms of self-harm this seeks to help ameliorate. There is a lot here that does resonate, such as the discussion of the role of shame in making had situations worse, and the healing power of communicating about uncomfortable emotions and experiences. I’ve progressed through this in dribs and drabs, but never quite gotten through it. Stalled at 30% in.
Nonfiction, 5/10
Mars Colony Chronicles (Books 1-5): A Space Opera Box Set Adventure, Brandon Ellis, 2021.
· Martian Plague (Mars Colony Chronicles #1), 2019
· Martian Ark (Mars Colony Chronicles #2), 2019
· Martian Insurrection (... #3)
· Martian Earth (... #4)
· Martial Legacy (... #5)
“Criminal Archaeologist” would be a great title on a business card, but it’s a hard way to make a living -- as Ozzy Mack discovers when it turns out that he not only has to dodge the cops, but also save humanity’s remnants from a deadly plague. Premise is solid, the plot has lots of promise, but the characters varied from whiny and implausible (Ozzy) to bellicose and cartoonish (the “High Judge”.) The descriptive writing and dialog both lacked flow, making it hard to enjoy reading. I gutted it out through the first volume since it had glimmers of promise.
The second book’s story arc -- huh...find the all-powerful “Ark of the Concordant”...where have we heard that before? -- did me in, though. I started off liking this, but wound up wondering if this wasn’t another case of a promising independent SF author prioritizing volume over polishing what could/should have been exciting work. Sent back to the Kindle cloud 23% in, with an estimated 9 hrs and 49 mins reading time seeming like just too much to ask.
Smirk factor: More than acceptable: 1.5 pts (12 smirks in 5 volumes)
Immersion factor: Damp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Needs a bit of work: 0.5 pts
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Below-average: 0.5pts
Total: 4/10
Salvage (Robber Barrons Book 2), Nanci Schwartz, 2022.
Inheritance (Robber Barrons Book 3)
These are the follow-up volumes to the Robber Barrons novel I reviewed in the Daylight Savings Update and gave a 6/10. I noted then that it was a mixed experience. Heading into volume 2, I found the parts I didn’t like exaggerated and the parts I did to be fewer and more muted. The premise and strong female protagonist both remain interesting but under-developed and hampered by relatively wooden writing. I found it increasingly hard to remain immersed in the story, and put it down 68 pages into Book 2, despite having pre-ordered Book 3.
Smirk factor: Almost overdone: 0.5 pts (Salvage has 3 smirks; Inheritance has 17)
Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 4.5/10
Starships in the Night: Multiverse Box Set 1, Christian Kallias, 2015-18.
Universe in Flames - Wings of Destiny (Book 0)
Universe in Flames - Earth - Last Sanctuary (Book 1)
Universe in Flames - Damocles Fall (Novelette)
Universe in Flames - The Way of the Warrior (Novella)
Universe in Flames - Fury to the Stars (Book 2)
Universe in Flames - Into the Abyss (Novelette)
Universe in Flames - Course Correction (Short Story)
Wings and (part of) Sanctuary were as much as I could do of this long set. Chase Athanatos is a space cadet who just wants to fly fighters in the ongoing war between the Star Alliance and the Obsidian Empire and its violent toadies, the Zarlacks -- no points for guessing which are the baddies here. Pretty standard space opera, although I found it hard to engage with the story. The implausible physics, formulaic plot and Chase’s cardboard cut-out personality combined to zero me out before the multiverse aspect was even introduced. Put it down on 90 of 1247 pages, 7% through.
Smirk factor: Almost overdone: 0.5 pts (19 smirks in 1247 pages, but not the worst use of words)
Immersion factor: Damp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Below-average: 0.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 3.5/10
The Pike Chronicles Books 1-8 - A Space Opera Adventure, G. P. Hudson, 2020.
Sol Shall Rise (Book 1)
Prevail (Book 2)
Ronin (Book 3)
Ghost Fleet (Book 4)
Interstellar War (Book 5)
Vanquish (Book 6)
Galactic Empire (Book 7)
Armada (Book 8)
Humanity is slowly crawling out from under the rubble of 500 years of subjugation by an alien race, and is establishing an uneasy relationship with their new, equally alien, liberators. Against this background, Jon Pike, “a war hero who has lost everything” survives an assassination attempt and apparently on the same day is appointed to command an expedition to find lost human colonies. His good judgment starts to shine through immediately, because when you’re being given an assignment critical to humanity’s future, you’d obviously not mention the whole someone-tried-to-kill-me-just-now thing, right?
Within a short time, this fantastic blend of foresight and tactical acumen lead him to...utterly preventable defeat and the apparent death of everyone he cared about (a slim list, to be fair.) Book 2 opens with him sulking and being pointlessly rude to the crew who’s rescued him from certain death in the deep space equivalent of a life boat, and who he repays with snarls and by making a bad situation worse. I’m sure this catastrophe was designed to set up a redemption arc, but Pike comes across as hopelessly shallow and I lost interest.
I had mixed feeling about putting this down, because there are some promising characters and the plot had all the raw material for a great story. My theory, though, is that once again the need to churn out pages and multiple volumes won out over the craft of writing. This is always disappointing, and particularly here where there were unusual glimmers of potential. Nonetheless, stopped reading at 347 pages out of 2122, or 16% done.
Smirk factor: Slightly less than acceptable: 0.5 pts (18 smirks in 2,120-ish pages)
Immersion factor: Damp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Needs some work: 0.5 pts
Character/plot development: Needs some work: 0.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Total: 3.5/10
Birth of Heavy Metal, Complete Boxed Set (Books 1-8): The Zoo, Michael Todd and Michael Anderle, 2018-19.
He Was Not Prepared
She is His Witness
Backstabbing Little Assets
Blood of My Enemies
Get Out Of Our Way
It All Falls Down
Justice Comes Due
All’s Fair In War
This was not my first trip to the Zoo world rodeo, and I started it with high hopes based on earlier and related stories. Todd and Anderle write better than the average volume-obsessed indie SFF entrepreneurs, so I was surprised to find that there was no spark here. I made it to 429 pages in, or 18% of the way through, before finding that the reading was getting heavier and heavier going.
Smirk factor: Overdone: 0 pts (219 smirks in 2314 pages)
Immersion factor: Damp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Total: 4.5/10
The Watchers: The Complete Series: (A Post-Apocalyptic Box Set: Books 1-3), Tom Abrahams, 2021
This has lingered on my Kindle for a year and a half. Post-apocalyptic muscle-car series with a strong redemptive arc, and the strangest name for an organized crime group I can remember: “the Tic.” I just can’t get engaged with the premise. Decently written, but something is lacking and I suspect -- only half-jokingly -- it’s my interest in the muscle car part.
Smirk factor: Overdone: (39 uses in 838 pages)
Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 4/10
Scattered Scenes of Sex and Violence, Benjamin Welton, 2021.
Welton brings together 14 or so vignettes as a reflection on mortality, violence and desire. A download from Terror House Press, I’m impressed that 78 pages could seem like it’s so much longer. Rambling and too clever.
Nonfiction, 4/10
Oddly Concerning: Weird Microfiction, H.W. Taylor, 2021.
Both weird and microfiction, this short collection just hasn’t resonated with me. Abandoned 15% into it.
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt (Smirks N/A, but overly clever and not my thing)
Immersion factor: Damp: 0.5 pts
Writing quality: Below-average: 0.5 pts
Character/plot development: Below-average: 0.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Below-average: 0.5 pts
Total: 3/10
The Great Insurrection Complete Boxed Set (Books 1-9) , David Beers and Michael Anderle, 2021-22
Warlord Born
Warlord Rising
Warlord Conquering
Prometheus Wakes
Prometheus Unites
Prometheus Ascends
Titan’s Return
Titan’s Bloodshed
Titan’s Judgment
Another mass-produced series with epic scope and epoch-spanning intent. Aspects are above-average for the genre with some notable character development and a plot with some subtle, thoughtful touches. Ultimately the sheer scope of the story dragged me down, though, and I started noticing more and more aspects which seemed a bit under-baked. I made to chapter two of the fifth book: a total of 962 pages, or 45% of the total, before my immersion shattered for the last time under the weight of wondering when this would get to the denouement.
Smirk factor: Overdone: 0 pts (49 smirks in 2133 pages -- most standing in for better word choices)
Immersion factor: Shallow: 1 pt
Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts pt
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 5/10
Bogged Down
85 Days In Slavyansk, Alexander Zuchkovsky, Peter Nimitz, April 2022.
This is a timely volume about an area which has rightly been much in the news. This book was originally published in Russian in 2018, and is fundamentally an exercise in political apologetics. While reading -- or attempting to read -- this I kept thinking of Peter Pomerantsev’s 2014 book, Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia. Given the timing of this edition’s appearance in English, it was impossible not to wonder how much of this is curated reality and how much is simply a set of convenient justifications for brutal violence. I am stuck at page 168 of 460, 35% of the way in.
Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot, Jim Stockdale.
Stockdale parachuted into captivity during the Vietnam War armed with little more than a working knowledge of Epictetus and an iron desire to do the right thing as his philosophical background gave him to understand it. I thought this would be compelling, but am finding it tough going. Currently stalled 16% of the way through.
The Talent War: How Special Operations and Great Organizations Win On Talent, Mike Sarraille and George Randle.
The title and foreword by Jocko Willink telegraph that this is an entry into the burgeoning leadership-industrial complex. I approached this with enthusiasm, and immediately found -- still in the introduction, no less -- that there are warning signs that the authors have penned less of an exploration of a critical topic than a one-size-fits-all paen to their previous experiences. I’m willing to be convinced that the hiring process can be understood as an extension of war (part 2) but am suddenly way less enthused. 12 pages, or 8% into it and holding.
Eating Glass: The Inner Journey Through Failure And Renewal, Mark D. Jacobsen, 2021.
I have both a personal and professional interest in -- and experience with -- the dual ideas of failure and renewal, so was excited to hear about this well-reviewed volume. The actual experience has been flat. I’m having trouble empathizing with Jacobsen, although his description of setting fire to the Stanford University campus with a drone was entertaining. I’m hoping the “renewal” part comes up fairly quickly. Stuck at 27%.
The Economics of Inflation, A Study of Currency Depreciation In Post-War Germany, Constantino Bresciani-Torroni, 2003.
I should stick to reading selected bloggers’ take on economics rather than going to semi-primary sources. This looked interesting, and to some extent it is, but the lessons for today from this are buried deep in 472 pages of fine details. Stuck on page 85, 14% through.
The Art of Strategic Decision Making: How to Make Tough Decisions Quickly, Intelligently and Safely (Think Smarter, Not Harder Book 3), Peter Hollins, 2021.
Another book in a subject area I should take to like a duck to water, and where I’m finding my ability to make progress painfully slow. Stuck at 22% in.
The Histories, Herodotus, Penguin Classics, 2003 (originally ca. 450BCE)
Good intentions, poor execution -- both on my part. 13% done.
The Punic Wars: A Captivating Guide, Captivating Guides, 2020.
See entry immediately above. 21% done.
Stonewall Jackson And The American Civil War, G.F.R. Henderson, 1898.
Following up on a visit to Appomattox in 2020, I thought this would be an interesting read on a fascinating character. What it appears to be instead is Lost Cause hagiography, and I’m having trouble summoning enthusiasm for it. 6% done.
Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure In War, Eliot A. Cohen and John Gooch, 2006.
A revised edition of a volume that appeared in 1990, this asks the provocative question “why do competent armies fail?” Organizational development studies certainly grapples with the same question on a more general level, so I thought it would be an interesting cross-disciplinary read. Lack of progress here is less due to the book than my general malaise where non-fiction is concerned and I look forward to giving it a second push. Stalled 12% in.
Risk Savvy: How To Make Good Decisions, Gerd Gigerenzer, 2013.
Written by a critic of Kahneman and Tversky who has a special interest in bounded rationality and the heuristics of decision-making, this examines a perennial issue for both individuals and organizations. I picked this up as a response to aspects of Stanley McChrystal’s book on risk which made me uncomfortable. Like that volume, this deserves to be reexamined. Currently at a standstill 9% in.
The Roots of Evil, John Kekes, 2007
Reach exceeding grasp, I bought this in March, 2021 as a by product of a (rare) philosophical moment -- probably one prompted by watching too much news. It remains an interesting area for thought for me, but one that has been much, much too heavy to take on lately.
The Warrior Ethos, Steven Pressfield, various.
Pressfield’s The Artist’s Journey impressed me when I read it, and the audiobook accompanied me on several very long training runs. I’ve had these since March 2020, May 2019 and March 2020, respectively. Not sure what that says, but perhaps it’s time to put in the work on these again.
Pacification in Algeria, David Galula, 2006.
I blame the Army War College for this one.
The Omni-Americans, Albert Murray, 1990.
A mention of this on-line inspired me to buy it; energy to pursue reading it has been lacking for a while now.